Power BI has quickly given Microsoft supremacy in analytics and real-time reporting, but it's only available as an online cloud service. Seeking parity, a revamped on-premises SQL Server Reporting Services 2016 will deliver rich features, such as a new UI, delivery of KPIs and HTML5-based reporting, but integration with Power BI for now is only a statement of direction.

The software for enterprises and hosting providers to build private and hybrid clouds based on the same technology that runs the Microsoft Azure public cloud service is in preview for testers to evaluate. Some say it could bring major changes to the datacenter.

As the SharePoint community awaits whatever surprises Microsoft has in store this week when it outlines the future of its storied collaboration platform, the company has already indicated it will include long-awaited improvements to the user experience.

The release of SharePoint 2016 means those wedded to InfoPath and SharePoint Designer may need new tools for building or extending workflows into their applications but even this firm's preferred software has limitations.